In order to accurately test the performance and/or scalability of certain software systems (such as file systems and logical volume managers), software test engineers may be required to test such software systems using extremely robust input-output (I/O) subsystems. For example, in order to accurately identify potential limitations and/or defects in a software system, as opposed to merely highlighting the limitations and/or deficiencies of the underlying I/O subsystem (such as I/O bottlenecks), software test engineers may be required to build an I/O subsystem that includes potentially hundreds of high-quality and high-speed physical storage devices and units of memory.
Unfortunately, building an I/O subsystem that is sufficiently robust to detect potential performance and/or scalability issues in certain large-scale software systems may prove extremely costly and time-consuming. As such, the instant disclosure identifies a need for systems and methods for accurately and inexpensively testing various aspects of software systems, such as file systems and logical volume managers.